The present invention relates to a yarn unwinding guide for a textile winding machine and, more particularly, to a yarn unwinding guide for guiding yarn being unwound from a package built on a tube which is individually supported on a tube support member.
It is known to provide a textile winding machine with a plurality of independently movable tube support members and to transfer yarn packages comprising yarn built on tubes from a yarn package storage location onto the tube support members. The tube support members typically include an upright member for receiving a tube inserted thereon to support the tube in a generally upright disposition. The tube support members are typically moved in a path which initially leads to a yarn end preparation machine which loosens the yarn end of each package, without regard to the location of the yarn end on the package, and disposes the yarn end in a preferred preliminary position such as, for example, in a bottom winding around the bottom portion of the tube. From there, the tube support members are transported to an unwinding machine in which the yarn packages are unwound from the tubes. Following the unwinding operation, the tube support members, with empty tubes supported thereon, are transported to a tube removal location for removing the empty tubes. Those tube support members from which a tube has been removed are then returned to the tube transfer location for the insertion of a new yarn package thereon.
However, sometimes tube support members are transported to the unwinding location having yarn packages thereon which have not undergone the process of disposing the yarn end of the package in a preferred preliminary disposition. In this situation, a yarn end may be located at any one of an infinite number of random locations on the yarn package. To initiate the unwinding process, the yarn end must first be loosened from the yarn package and guided to an appropriate yarn draw-off component of the winding machine.
One device for unwinding a yarn end from a yarn package supported on an upright tube includes a gas guide chamber into which streams of gas are introduced for producing a helical flow pattern about the yarn package to thereby facilitate unwinding of the yarn end. Once the yarn end has been propelled beyond the top of the gas guide chamber, an appropriate yarn engaging device such as, for example, a suction device, engages the yarn end and guides the yarn end to an appropriate yarn draw-off component of the winding machine. Thereafter, the yarn travels continuously upwardly beyond the top of the gas guide chamber as it is continuously fed to a yarn traversing mechanism for building a cross-wound yarn package. However, the yarn may not be constrained during its travel through an extent extending from the top of the gas guide chamber to the first component of the yarn feeding device which contacts the traveling yarn after it exits the gas guide chamber. Thus, the risk exists that detrimental uncontrolled ballooning of traveling yarn will occur as it travels through this unconstrained extent. Accordingly, the need exists for an apparatus which effectively and reliably guides a traveling yarn as it travels beyond the top of a gas guide chamber.